UK Newswire Archive
Bristol City Stadium Farce
28-07-2010 02:33
International attention on BCFC's Stadium Bid!http://www.wiredvc.com/in-aid-do-i-call-for-the-help-of...city/
South Wales to Gaza
28-07-2010 01:01
Activists from S.Wales hope to send a delegation to join the next humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza. In just over a month we hope to raise £10,000. Come to the launch meeting on Thursday 11 August!World Courier Lie, Animals Die! - Take Action
27-07-2010 21:50
ACTION ALERT #1 - WORLD COURIERCampaign launched to close down German dolphinarium
27-07-2010 21:38
"Not only do we have to fight criminal operations and cruelty to animals on the high seas but also take responsibility and direct action to help those who are imprisoned in concrete pools, doomed to entertain us".
Bristol Animal Rights Collective even more determined to close Noah’s Ark after tour of the zoo
27-07-2010 20:22
On Monday 26th July, three members of BARC attended Noah's Ark Zoo Farm (NAZF) for a tour of the zoo with three members of the zoo staff, including the zoo's owner, Anthony Bush. Having initially been told that up to five of us could be shown around, this number was reduced to three two days prior to visit. When we arrived at the zoo we were asked to sign a declaration that we would not use any visual or audio equipment to record our visit (and we were told attempts to protest inside the zoo would not be allowed!)We were shown around less than half of the zoo's site. It appeared this was a deliberate attempt to show us what the zoo considered to be the better areas, i.e. the most spacious enclosures, however the staff made out we had run out of time and therefore were not to be shown any more. They said we were welcome to pay entry and see the rest, although they knew full well we would not be prepared to financially support them to do this.
Despite seeing the ‘better’ part, we still found the enclosures too small. All three visitors were distressed and saddened to see animals in small areas with little or no stimulation. Not long after our arrival at the zoo a member of the public approached the staff with us to alert them to an injured, bleeding vulture which appeared to have sustained its injuries by flying repeatedly into the walls and roof of its aviary. When we later viewed the vultures they were doing exactly as the zoo visitor had described. They appeared to be frightened of humans and Mr Bush told us, "They don't like being stared at". Not ideal for a zoo exhibit then! Although I don't suppose the other animals like it any more than they do.
We were also concerned to learn that a number of chicks hatched by storks and rheas have been taken by foxes and crows over the last two years. As a result of this zoo staff are now removing rheas from the breeding pair as they hatch, one can only imagine the stress which this must cause them. The stalks had their eggs removed and incubated this year, neither hatched, they were unable to tell us why.
Despite stating to the council in the planning application for the elephant enclosure that 'there will be no breeding from the elephants' and promoting the enclosure as a 'sanctuary' for elephants, Anthony Bush told us they now intend to take in 4 adult elephants and breed them until they have a family group of 10!
It was desperately sad to see the tigers we had read so much about, imprisoned in this way, stripped of their dignity and their right to freedom. The effect of this travesty was clear to anyone who stood and watched as one of them paced in circles while the zoo staff fumbled around trying to cover it up and make excuses for his behaviour. The female tiger appeared to have been swapped - with Martin Lacey or the Great British Circus?? We have emailed the zoo to ask where the new female came from and what happened to the previous one although have not as yet received a reply.
Anthony Bush seemed to have misguidedly been under the impression that by showing us round he may somehow convince us that the conditions inside the zoo are no cause for concern and his animals are happy, healthy and content. In reality it has only served to make us more determined in our campaigning for captive animals in general, and specifically those incarcerated inside Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm.
Anti-fascism in Spain: The relevance to today's st
27-07-2010 19:25
The recent series of Nottingham events commemorating the struggles of those who fought Franco's fascism in Spain has, rightfully, received a lot of attention from local anarchists and socialists. However, what have often been missing from these explorations of history are attempts to examine the relevance of the Spanish experience to contemporary social struggles. It is certainly inspiring and informative to dig into the history books, watch the films and celebrate the lives and deaths of those who fought for freedom from fascism, but there are lessons to be learned that might inform our current activism.
For me, an important distinction to be made is between the revolution in everyday life desired by the peasants and workers and the much less radical strategy of inflicting military defeat on Franco's forces that was eventually adopted by the Republican leaders. The grassroots revolutionary movement demanded the overthrow the capitalist landowners and bosses and redistribution of land, the end of authoritarian, conservative Catholicism and direct democratic control of production. It was this desire for freedom that was counterposed to the fascists' brutally intolerant and repressive authoritarianism. The later dominance of anti-fascist resistance by Stalinism saw the rolling back of many of the freedoms that people had fought for, and anti-fascism becoming limited to defeating Franco's forces on the battlefield.
This same terrible mistake can clearly be seen in certain strands of today's 'anti-facism'. Organisations like Hope Not Hate (HNH) and Unite Against Fascism (UAF) seek to define fascism as solely the domain of certain extreme right wing groups such as the British National Party (BNP) and English Defence League (EDL). They make no attempt to criticise the authoritarianism and nationalism that is integral to the British state, or the dehumanisation produced by capitalism. Instead they often choose to ally themselves with prominent politicians and capitalists in fighting 'the nasty parties'. Their conceptualisation of fascism is limited to a symbolic war against the most extreme neo-Nazis without any understanding of the social and economic factors that nurture and sustain fascism. Their attitude, like that of the Stalinists in Spain, seems to be that the struggle for freedom is an obstacle to the fight against fascism rather than an integral component of it.
Fortunately there are groups, both locally and nationally, have a rather more acute understanding of the struggle that is needed. Notts Stop the BNP (NStBNP) have worked hard to incorporate themes of working class resistance to capitalism into their propaganda and try to make links in the communities in which fascists are strong. They have built up a network locally with groups in Derbyshire and now nationally in an attempt to counter the EDL. Their propaganda centres around the demand for 'Jobs and Homes Not Racism', acknowledging working class concerns about adequate housing and employment, and is strongly pro-trade union. What is absent from their strategy is the call for people to take back control of their lives from capitalist ownership and state authoritarianism that won such widespread appeal during the early stages of the Spanish Civil War. Indeed, the rather outmoded focus on trade unionism reveals the limits of their ambitions. The majority of trade unions today are alienated from and alienating to workers who have little confidence in them. In addition, a workplace centred model of resistance ignores anyone who isn't a worker and the entire spheres of workers' lives that are not governed by work but are still dominated by the dictates of capital. Council houses and minimum wage jobs might seem better than homelessness and destitution but are hardly beacons of hope. NStBNP are certainly considerably more sophisticated than the UAF and HNH but their strategy often seems to fall back on outdated models of workers' liberation and lacks the immediate desire for freedom that is necessary to defeat fascism.
There are anti-fascists who have a much more far-reaching critique of hierarchy and capitalism. Militant anti-fascists often have a much more critical approach to the state and extend their critique of neo-fascism to include the mainstream politicians who help it to flourish. However, the necessarily closed nature of these militant groups means that they will never form a mass movement by themselves. Despite Antifa England's call for more people to take on their politics and tactics the number of militant anti-fascist actions does not seem to be growing.
There are important moves from other groups not traditionally considered to be anti-fascist which seem promising. The growth of autonomous community groups and solidarity networks in areas such as Hackney and Hereford have emerged as an anti-fascist counter to fascist community organising. The BNP's tactics of focussing on commmunity issues has been tackled by a more radical and far-reaching politics by autonomous groups. There are also promising moves from some involved in the No Borders network to tackle those great propagators of racist values, the mainstream media. Indeed, anarchist anti-prison, anti-border controls and anti-surveillance campaigns all have an anti-authoritarian and implicitly anti-fascist character. Whether these disparate energies can be brought together into a broader movement against fascist values and fascist targets remains to be seen.
In conclusion, we should remember those who fought the fascists in Spain and honour their struggle. Theirs was not a struggle for a republic or for Stalin's Communism but for a radical overthrow of authoritarian and capitalist control of people's everyday lives. We must continue that struggle today.
Global wave to stop this deportation!
27-07-2010 19:20
A Bolivian widow and her two British raised children have had their application for residency rejected and are now being threatened with imminent deportation. Let's have a massive global wave of solidarity and stop this deportation! We are asking everyone to sign the petition and then resend this message to all your contacts in London, the rest of the UK and around the world.The killer PC Simon Harwood
27-07-2010 19:04
Their conclusion? The killer PC Simon Harwood will not be charged with any offence.Arkwright Meadows Community Garden
27-07-2010 17:24
Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens was created by local Meadows residents coming together to transform part of this disused, unloved, rubbish-strewn playing field into a green space for the local people to use.
They Say:
In 2001, Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens was created by local Meadows residents coming together to transform part of this disused, unloved, rubbish-strewn playing field into a green space for the local people to use. Local residents now enjoy the benefits of a safe space for family events, place of learning and opportunity to buy freshly-grown fruit and vegetables.
By July 2003, with the help of volunteers and partnerships with local training schemes, the Gardens started to transform; native hedging and orchard trees were planted, new members signed up. A triple-skinned polytunnel was erected and the curved walls and raised beds built. Over the following years the Gardens have further developed into an oasis in the heart of the Meadows, with residents regularly coming to buy vegetables, hundreds of attendees at events and numerous daily visitors.
In 2007 we successfully secured funding from the Big Lottery Fund to continue our work and aims for a further five years. It has allowed us to employ additional staff and enables us to extend our reach to the many diverse groups found within the Meadows community.
And what of the future? Our next step is to design and construct an eco-building, a space which will play host to more events, house training in horticulture and food practices, act as a meeting place for the local community and allow us to extend winter opening hours.
Arkwright Meadows Community Garden
Kirkby Gardens
off Wilford Grove
The Meadows
Nottingham NG2 2HZ
0115 986 7777
everyone@amcgardens.co.uk
http://www.amcgardens.co.uk
****
Related postings:
'Fresh' Project at Ecoworks, St Ann's Allotments
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2007/10/382929.html
Sumac Garden Project, looking verdant [Food for the Future]
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/05/430465.html
"Food for the Future" skillshare session at the Sumac centre
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/05/430936.html
Sumac Garden Project, looking verdant 2 [Food for the Future]
http://nottinghamshire.indymedia.org.uk/2009/09/438647.html
much more 'Tash on Food' at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tash/sets/72157603274353832
Straw Bale Building at Meadows Community Garden
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/210
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
London Day of Action Against the Lab Animal Trade - 4th August
27-07-2010 17:18
London Day of Action Against the Lab Animal TradeWednesday 4th August
Meet 11am at Cannon Street Tube (EC4N 6AP)
VID (8 mins 30 secs) Catholic Worker Talk on Christian Anarchism
27-07-2010 16:27
VID (8 mins 30 secs) - (A slightly hungover) Ciaron O'Reilly on "Christian Anarchism & the Catholic Worker". Talk given at Christian - Anarchist gathering in England 2010.Straw Bale Building at Meadows Community Garden
27-07-2010 16:24
Monday 26th July 2010
Visited another straw bale building project at the Arkwright Meadows Community Garden.
Visited another straw bale building project at the Arkwright Meadows Community Garden.
This is how far they've got, being a 'work in progress'.
If you would like to be involved, the next opportunity is to help with lime rendering of the walls. This workday will be on 16th August. Please either ask at the office [address & phone below] or 07719 428187
I have been photographing the progress of another straw bale project:
Straw Bale work on eco-building in St.Anns Part 33
[You will also find links to all previous stages]
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/202
Arkwright Meadows Community Garden
Kirkby Gardens
off Wilford Grove
The Meadows
Nottingham NG2 2HZ
0115 986 7777
everyone@amcgardens.co.uk
http://www.amcgardens.co.uk
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
Norfolk Fire Service Cuts
27-07-2010 16:02
More Norfolk ‘Consultations’ Nonsense..This Time From Fire Brigade Management..Full article | 1 addition | 14 comments
Calls for Home Secretary to Ban the EDL from Bradford
27-07-2010 15:42
The Telegraph & Argus, trade unions, Bradford University, political parties, faith leaders, the Chamber of Commerce, dozens of community groups and Bradford Council have all spoken out against the proposed English Defence League demonstration calling for it to be banned.Palestine Today 07 27 2010
27-07-2010 14:59
Welcome to Palestine Today a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www.imemc.org for Tuesday, July 27, 2010.
4th August - International Solidarity Movement talk at the Cowley Club
27-07-2010 13:09
dinner with films 6pm
talk with Q & A 7pm
film and Palestinian music afterwards
Full article | 1 addition | 5 comments
Bother In Bradford by 'Malatesta'
27-07-2010 13:08
The EDL are to march in Bradford. But all is not well."SIKITIKO" satirical shortfilm
27-07-2010 12:50
In 2004 a mysterious group abducts the hand of a statue, part of a monument for King Leopold II. This as an act of political activism. They would catalyse a surreal chain of events, in the best Belgian tradition. A little girl reconstructs the story...Beat the Boreholes continues!!
27-07-2010 12:46
